At an Eanes school board meeting Wednesday, district head of business services Larry Kaiser delivered a summary of a recent report by the Financial Integrity Rating System that gave the district a superior rating based on 2007-08 data.

“I would point out that the Eanes school district has received a superior rating every since these ratings began in 2002,” Kaiser said.

The only mark against the district by the rating system came from a curious direction, a reduction in score for too large an amount of money kept in savings in the fund balance from year to year. The current district fund balance is estimated at $ 35.5 million. Kaiser said the FIRS estimated an optimum fund balance for the district at $13.9 million.

“From the point of view of this particular system our fund balance is too large,” Kaiser said. “This was the only thing that counted against district in the financial rating analysis.”

Superintendent Nola Wellman has told board members in recent months that the district will have begin spending down fund balance next year to compensate for inadequate funding from the state.

Board members passed by consent agenda the acceptance of the district’s financial report, approval of proposed members to the district’s School Safety and Health Advisory Council and a listing of designated appraisers for the Professional Development and Appraisal Systems.

In other school board action:

• The board recognized 32 students ranked as National Merit Scholarship semifinalists, a record number for Westlake High School, beating last year’s previous record number of 28. To become a finalist, a student must have an outstanding high school academic record, a recommendation from the school principal and qualifying SAT scores. Finalist will be announced in February.

• Wellman gave board members a recap of the nine State of the District addresses she gave at campuses within the district during September. More than 900 district residents attended the various addresses. Wellman said that during those presentations, residents expressed surprise that the district had a low tax rate compared to other Central Texas districts.

• Cindy Hayden, district director of finance, gave board members a preliminary update on the district’s finances through Aug. 31. Hayden said the district expected an additional $1.7 million of expenses prior to the final close of the month, resulting in an estimated deficit of $2 million for the 2008-2009 year. That is less than the $2.5 million fund balance pull previously predicted last month.

• Board members also approved submitted recommendations for the School Safety and Health Advisory Council membership.

• Board members also voted to reissue 1999 and 2001 district bonds at a lower interest rate, a move that could save the district up to $1.5 million in savings.